Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Ash came to his side. “So you two found each other after all.”

  “We need a favor from you guys,” Abel replied, “another favor, like you haven’t done enough for us already.”

  “Whatever you want,” Ash replied. “It’s just good to see you two smiling again. I was worried I’d find one or both of you dead from a broken heart out here.”

  “We need you to go with us to say good-bye to our families,” Abel told him. “Jordan, you go with Onyx and don’t let her out of your sight. I’m trusting you to bring her back here so we can leave together. Ash, you and I will go up the Ridge. I’ll say good-bye to my family and we’ll come back here to rendezvous with Jordan and Onyx. What do you say?”

  Jordan laughed. “If this is what we need to do to see you two settle down and quit racing all over the country, I’ll do it. Come on, Onyx. The day’s a-wasting, and I’ve spent too much time looking for the two of you while you were hiding in the forest.”

  Abel pulled Onyx toward him one last time. “Hurry back, okay?”

  “Go straight to your parents’ house and come straight back here. Don’t you dare go anywhere else, or you’ll be in trouble.”

  He laughed. “Be careful out there.”

  “Come on, Onyx,” Jordan called.

  Their hands trailed apart. Abel clutched at the last remnant of her skin before she broke away. He walked backward up the hill until Onyx and Jordan passed out of sight.

  Abel sighed and turned around. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could get back to her. He found Ash studying him. “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”

  Abel shot him a grin. “Don’t make it sound so bad. You got your mate. Now, it’s my turn.”

  Ash shook his head. “I’m happy for you. I’m just sorry you have to leave. I understand why you have to do it, but it’s hard to lose my best friend.”

  Abel hugged him around the shoulders while they walked. “We’ll always be friends. No one will ever take your place in my life. You’ve become more NightShade than I ever thought possible. You’re a man of the Ridge. You belong here. Everybody knows that now.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever come back?”

  “I hope I can. I really do.”

  Abel didn’t hesitate to enter his parents’ house this time. He barged right in without knocking. Ash waited for him on the porch.

  Abel looked around. “Where are the girls?”

  Noah rose from his chair. He drew himself up tall and straight. “The girls have gone downstairs. They’ll never see the surface again.”

  Abel started. “Why? I thought they liked the surface.”

  “‘Like’ has nothing to do with it,” Noah boomed. “After what happened to you, we couldn’t run the risk of one of them doing the same thing. They’ve gone downstairs for good. If you leave, you’ll never see them again.”

  Abel hung his head. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

  Noah softened. “I know, son. I’m sorry, too. Do you really mean to leave us for this girl?”

  Abel nodded. “I have to. There’s no place for us on this Ridge. You have my solemn word I’ll never tell anyone about Arion. She says she doesn’t want me tell even her. She wants to protect the secret, too.”

  “All right, son. If that’s what you think is best, I’ll accept it.”

  “Are you still proud of me, Daddy?”

  Noah raised his sad eyes to his son’s face. “More than ever. I’m just so sorry to lose you. I always thought I’d grow old with you around. I thought I’d live to see my grandchildren. Now, I’m not so sure. The girls have gone downstairs, and you’re leaving. What’s going to happen to us?”

  Abel rushed into his father’s arms, and both men held on for dear life. Abel whispered in his father’s ear, “Don’t let me go, Daddy. Let me stay here with you.”

  Noah pressed his lips against Abel’s hair. “You can’t stay, son. You have to go to your woman. That’s the way it is with our people. You can’t live without your mate.”

  Abel squeezed the tears out of his eyes into his father’s shirt. He pushed this man away who guided and protected him his whole life. He would never again rely on his father to show him the way. He had to face this old world on his own.

  He turned away before he broke down completely. He walked across the room to the rocking chair where his mother sat. When he saw her face, he couldn’t hold back the tears. He knelt down in front of her and took both her hands. “Mommy?”

  She gave him the most beautiful smile he ever saw. Her face shone from the inside. “I love you, son. You go and be happy with your mate. You’ll always be here in our hearts. You know that.”

  Abel collapsed forward to sink his face in her lap. Her cool cotton dress soothed his tear-stained cheeks. “I love you, Mommy. I love you so much.”

  Her gentle hand fell on his neck while he sobbed, but she never cried. She only smiled at him, and she kissed him when he raised his head to take his leave. He kissed both her hands and her head. Then he tore himself away and rushed outside without looking back.

  36. Chapter 16

  Onyx rubbed the tears off her cheeks against her shoulder when she came out of her parents’ house. She met Jordan and Ebony by the gate.

  Ebony put her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “It’s gonna be all right. You’re going home.”

  Onyx nodded. She compressed her lips to stop herself from crying, but in her heart, she was never happier than now. She turned to her sister. “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”

  Ebony hugged her and sniffed back tears. “I’m happy for you. I’m gonna miss you, though. I’m gonna miss all the chaos you caused me these last few years.”

  Onyx laughed between sobs. “I wish I wasn’t leaving.”

  “Don’t wish that,” Ebony replied. “If you stayed, neither you nor Abel would be safe. Some hotshot would try to kill you for loving each other. You’ll be safer somewhere else.”

  Onyx nodded. “I know.”

  “Come on, Onyx,” Jordan interrupted. “I’ll take you back to meet Abel.”

  “Not yet.” Onyx turned back the other way. “There’s something I have to do first.”

  Jordan frowned. “What is it?”

  “I’m going up to Riley’s. I have to talk to him and Melody before I leave.”

  Ebony scowled, but she and Jordan didn’t say anything. They accompanied Onyx to the little cabin tucked among the trees. Onyx paused at the bottom of the porch steps. “You guys stay here, okay?”

  “Abel told me not to let you out of my sight,” Jordan countered.

  “I won’t be long,” Onyx replied. “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t sneak out the back. I’ll be out in no time. I have to do this before I leave.”

  Jordan pursed his lips and turned his back on her. Onyx knocked on the door. Melody’s eyes widened. “Onyx! What are you doing here?”

  “I need to talk to you, Melody. It’s important.”

  Melody stood back. “You better come in then.”

  Onyx stepped into the house where she first fell for Abel in the first place. She sat down on the couch where he sat. That day seemed so long ago now. Onyx couldn’t believe it was less than a week since this whole thing started.

  Melody sat down opposite. “What’s going on?”

  Onyx took a deep breath. She got as far as, “I’ve got something to tell you,” before Riley walked in.

  He stiffened when he saw Onyx. “What’s going on here?”

  “I have something to say to you,” Onyx replied, “to you both. You better sit down, Riley. This concerns you as much as Melody.”

  Riley sat down next to Melody. “This better be pretty good. You’ve got some nerve coming here.”

  Onyx paid no attention to that. She blurted out the truth before she could second-guess herself, “I know where Azer and Raven are.”

  Riley and Melody stared at her. Then they
exchanged glances.

  “I know where they are, and I’m going there myself.” Onyx let the words rush out of her before she could stop them. “I’m mated to Abel Black. We’re going to live in Hadison. It’s a haven for shifters and their hybrid offspring, and Azer and Raven are living there. They invited us there, and that’s where we’re going.”

  Another stunned silence answered her.

  Onyx sank back in her chair. “One of you please say something.”

  Riley cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t know what to say. This is more than I ever expected.”

  Onyx reached out to them. “Please don’t tell anybody what I just said. Don’t tell anybody about Hadison. I don’t want my family coming after me the way Azer came after Melody, and Hunter and Cole would come after Raven, too, if they knew where she was. Just let them live in peace. That’s what they really need.”

  Riley and Melody looked at each other again. A smile spread across Melody’s cheeks, and she laid a hand across her belly. “Maybe we should go there. Maybe that’s the best place for this baby.”

  Riley took her hand and faced Onyx. “I really appreciate you telling us. It makes me feel better knowing there’s a place like that for people like us.”

  Onyx glanced at Melody. “You don’t have to stay here. People will make trouble for this baby. It will never have a definite place in the world. You should see Hadison. There’s every class of hybrid you can possibly imagine there. It’s normal. The moment I got off the bus, this bear/lion cross guy greeted me at a diner. He invited me to a dance, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Everybody’s there, and they’re all living side by side in harmony.” Onyx choked on pent-up sobs. “It’s so beautiful, you wouldn’t believe it.”

  Melody tightened her grip on Riley’s hand. “Thank you, Onyx. You don’t know what this means to me. We’ll stay here for now, but just knowing Hadison is there makes me so happy. If I have any trouble, I’ll take the baby there.”

  Onyx stood up. “I better go now. Please just keep this secret, for all our sakes.”

  “Don’t worry,” Riley replied. “The secret is safe with us.”

  They escorted her to the door, and Melody gave her a hug. “Will we see you again?”

  Onyx laughed, but tears welled up in her eyes. “If I have babies like yours, I don’t think so. I’ll stay where we belong.”

  Melody waved from the door when Onyx rejoined Ebony and Jordan. The trio walked down the streets of Midnight Moraine. Onyx took her time. She devoured every sight with her eyes. She tucked all those images into her heart. She might never see her home again, and she wanted to remember it like this. She wanted to remember the sun peeking through the trees and the birds winging through a cloudless sky.

  Good old Midnight Moraine. It offered the Midnight a safe haven for so many centuries. Now, outside forces threatened that. No Midnight ever had to leave—until now. Onyx was going where Raven went. Who knew how many other shifters had to leave their homes—and for what? Because they fell in love with the wrong person?

  Why did it have to be like that? Why couldn’t everybody live together in peace? If shifters could put their differences aside for love’s sake to live in Hadison, why couldn’t they do it everywhere? Didn’t shifters have enough to worry about from humans without threatening and killing one another?

  Ebony laid her hand on Onyx’s arm. “This is as far as I go. Give me a hug, sister.”

  Onyx looked around. The woods stood nearby. Abel was waiting out there somewhere to take her away. Ebony hung back. Her and Jordan’s own little house peeked at them across the compound. Ebony belonged there. An insurmountable gulf separated the sisters from each other. They could never bridge that gap with all the love in the world.

  Onyx put her arms around her sister. She never wanted to let go of this last precious remnant of her old life. Ebony pressed her head into her neck. She murmured under her breath. “You take care of yourself out there. Don’t let me find out anything happened to you.”

  Onyx kissed Ebony’s cheek. “Nothing will happen to me. I’m going be happier than I’ve ever been.”

  “I know you are.” Ebony stepped away. “You better go. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  Onyx backed into the forest. She never wanted to lose sight of her sister’s face, but she couldn’t stop walking. Whatever she did, she had to move toward Abel—always toward Abel. He attracted her from across the world.

  The trees swallowed up Ebony—or was it Onyx they swallowed up? Who disappeared, and who remained behind? Onyx couldn’t tell anymore. In the end, she couldn’t see one hint of Ebony. Onyx turned around to walk at Jordan’s side.

  Jordan didn’t say anything until they caught sight of Ash and Abel waiting among the trees. Jordan held Onyx back and confronted her. “Listen, Onyx. I want to say I’m sorry.”

  “You!” she exclaimed. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

  He waved his hand. “For everything. I’m sorry for everything that happened between us when I married Ebony. I’m sorry for everything that happened after it. I’m sorry for all the bad blood between you and Hunter and me. I never should have let any of this come between us.”

  Onyx grabbed his hand. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m as much to blame for that as you are. As far as what happened between us, let’s forget it. Ever since I got with Abel, it’s like it never happened. Nothing we did together made any difference. I’m only sorry it took me so long to find my mate. I would have been so much happier if I had found him sooner.”

  Jordan sighed. “I know what you mean, but we all had to learn. I wish I could have protected Abel from Hunter, but I guess that’s all water under the bridge now.”

  Onyx turned around. Abel turned at the same moment, and their eyes met in the shadowy forest. “It’s all water under the bridge. All of it.”

  37. Chapter 17

  Abel and Onyx checked both ways before they emerged from the trees into the street in Burkes Road. Abel held her hand, and they moved down the street toward the bus station. People strolled around the town, but no one paid any attention to them.

  “I guess it’s all right,” Abel murmured.

  “No one will stop us,” Onyx replied.

  Abel nodded. “I can’t get over the feeling we’re doing something wrong. I keep expecting someone or something to jump out and attack us.”

  Onyx smiled, but she didn’t laugh. She felt the same way. Making their escape from this town couldn’t be this simple. They couldn’t get on the bus and ride off into the sunset, just like that. Leaving Burkes Road the first time couldn’t compare with this. She and Abel would never come back here. Of that, Onyx was certain.

  She was getting away with something. She discovered the most priceless treasure, and there it was, right there at the end of her arm. She had to run away with it before someone tried to take it away from her.

  The church clock tolled two o’clock. They had plenty of time to get their tickets and get on the bus, but Onyx wanted to hurry. She wouldn’t rest easy until she got to Hadison.

  Abel pressed on down the street. They spotted the bus station around the corner when Abel stopped dead in his tracks. Onyx looked over to see what he was staring at. A chill ran down her spine when she saw Hunter coming out of the bear-baiting house across the street.

  Abel and Onyx stood stock still. Maybe Hunter wouldn’t see them. Maybe they could get away without a big, ugly confrontation in the middle of town. No such luck. Hunter turned around and looked right at them. He froze, too.

  A scream curled inside Onyx’s chest, but she jammed it down hard. She willed herself to stand still while Hunter sauntered down the path and came toward them. He looked Abel up and down. Then he glanced at Onyx. “You two going somewhere?”

  Onyx’s fear turned to anger. “Yes, we are. We’re leaving town, and you can’t stop us, Hunter. Abel and I are mated, and we’re going somewhere we can live together without any interference from you and your
sick friends. Jordan and Riley and Ash and all the others will stop you bear-baiting. You’ll never do to anybody else what you did to Abel. You can count on that.”

  Hunter surveyed the couple one more time. “Since when do NightShade and Midnight mate with one another? We’re supposed to be enemies.”

  “They mate with each other since right now,” Onyx shot back. “We’re not enemies. If Raven and Riley can mate with Bruins, what’s to stop me mating with a NightShade? We never were enemies. Our people would be peaceful if it wasn’t for guys like you. We might even be friends. If you try to stop me and Abel leaving, we’ll fight you. We’ll kill you right here and now. Don’t think we won’t do it. We don’t want to, but if we can fall in love with each other, it only proves peace is more important than ever. How many more couples have to leave town before you and your friends come to your senses?”

  “I don’t want to fight you, Onyx. You know I care way too much about you to do that.”

  Onyx stared at him. “You do?”

  “Of course. I always cared about you. It was never just about the sex for me, although I guess I never really told you that, did I? I’ve been thinking about mating for life myself recently. I thought you might be the one, but I can see now that you aren’t.”

  Onyx’s eyes popped out of her head. “Are you serious? You want to mate for life? I had no idea.”

  He chuckled. “I never let on. I never told a living soul until right now. What would the rest of the Moraine say if they knew? The great Hunter Faulkner—mated for life? That’s a pretty good joke, don’t you think?”

  Onyx couldn’t help but smile at him. “It’s not a joke, Hunter. You deserve a mate as much as anybody. You just have to find the right woman.”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “That’s the hard part.”

  “Congratulations!” Onyx exclaimed. “This is wonderful.”

  “Not really.” He cast his eyes across the street. “I’m more unhappy now than I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t have my mate with me.”

  “She’s out there. You just have to keep looking.”